Five teens have drowned in Romania after they took a dip in a river to cool off during a heatwave.
They apparently died after they dived in to help one of the group who got into trouble in the water.
Worried locals alerted authorities on Sunday evening after the youngsters were seen jumping into the Siret River. Five of them failed to come out of the water.
Their bodies were found after a search operation that lasted several hours near the village of Filipesti in the county of Bacau.
Eight teens, aged 14-18, rode their bikes in the Siret River about 15 kilometers away from their home on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said that one of them was swept away by a current. The other boys jumped in the river in a desperate effort to save him, and got into difficulty stiri-neamt.ro reported.
One youngster who remained on the river bank managed to pull out two of his mates using a stick and a towel, but the other five were dragged under the water.
Divers have recovered all the bodies.
The group was used going for a a dip in the river, and until Sunday had never run into any problems, the publication said.
